1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved flooring surfaces, and in particular to a method for producing highly cost-effective, improved flooring surfaces for animal care, maintenance or transport facilities and equipment.
2. Background Information
The floor or ground surfaces upon which an animal regularly stands or walks have immediate and long-term effects on the animal. Animals that typically weigh much more than the average person pose unique problems when constructing suitable flooring. Flooring which is adequate for people, may not be so for animals, either form an animal health standpoint, or from a durability standpoint.
Concrete and other smooth, hard flooring for various animal environment, e.g., zoos, lactating barns for cows, horse and cattle trailers, etc., has been around for many years. However, such flooring poses many immediate and long-term problems for the animals, especially heavy animals in a high traffic areas.
Hard (substantially non-resilient) and smooth concrete surfaces allow for even weight distribution across the entire area where the animal, e.g., hoof, contacts the surface. However, constant repetitive contact on hard, unforgiving and even surfaces can cause a host of injuries, e.g., swollen hocks or knees, mastitis, solar ulcers, etc. Likewise, constant repetitive contact on hard, unforgiving and uneven surfaces can also cause an array of animal injuries, e.g., damage to the internal components of the hoof. Furthermore, concrete floors are notorious for being slippery, especially when wet or with the presence of animal feces. Such slippery concrete surfaces cause injury or loss of animal life, often at an alarming rate.
Grooving concrete can be beneficial to provide lateral stability, but does very little for normal locomotion and footing. Proper animal locomotion and animal safety, not to mention other daily activities, require good and proper traction. Concrete flooring can be re-grooved, as needed, but this does not solve the aforementioned problems.
Scabbling concrete floors with a concrete planer (rotating knives moving laterally to cut the concrete) is another alternative, but the resulting flooring has ridges and points from the inconsistent depth of the cut. These ridges and points create palpable pressure points, which means the animals can feel such uneven ridges. Thus, as a result of the animal""s weight being concentrated on certain high points of the floor, the foot may experience discomfort, pain and long-term injury.
Rubber flooring is the benchmark for durability and safety in the large animal flooring context. Not only does rubber flooring as presently used in zoos and the like provide both the smooth and resilient surface that best serve heavy animals"" needs, it is one of the few materials that can be effectively disinfected and is free of toxicity. Also, such flooring can be easily cleaned.
Presently, rubber flooring for animal holding and passage areas is installed through a highly time-consuming and costly process. Thin layers of rubber-containing compounds are applied, one after the other, until the desired thickness is achieved. Each layer must be allowed to adequately cure before moving to the application of the next layer.
This process requires the delivery of many different chemicals and ingredients to a remote job sight, special preparation of the chemicals ingredients by special equipment and methodology, and involves many workers who must be specially skilled in the process.
As a result, rubber flooring as is currently known in the zoo and related contexts, is so expensive, that this beneficial tool for animal care is often foregone, out of shear budgetary necessity.
The use of rubber mats to replace the layered rubber flooring described above may seem to be a logical alternative. However, mats tend to shift, thereby creating ridges against which animals may stumble, and many animals will chew the exposed edges of rubber mats to considerable danger to their health. Furthermore, many rubber mats are simply not of the desirable resilience for heavy animals. A mat that is too soft may feel good to the touch but typically lacks in durability and longevity. (For example, research shows that milk production increases significantly when a cow is comfortable when lying down.) Soft rubber matting can also cause torsion injuries to animals, including, for examples, pasterns, knees and stifles. Conversely, a rubber mat or rubber flooring that is too hard may have remarkable durability and longevity, but is dangerously slippery, like soft concrete surfaces. (For example, rubber mats should have different durometer ratings [measure of hardness] depending on the use, e.g., extensive testing has shown that a mater between 60-65 durometer is ideal for equine use.)
In view of the foregoing, it would well-serve those who care for heavy animals, as well as the animals themselves, to provide an alternative flooring material and/or method for producing flooring material, the use or practice of which provides a near-ideal flooring surface (exhibiting the desired degree of resilience, durability, and ease of cleaning) at a cost which is within reach of most all who care for animals (in fact, less than the long-term veterinary expense arising from using concrete flooring instead).
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable and effective alternative to concrete flooring for heavy and high animal traffic areas, like in zoos.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and unobvious rubber flooring for heavy and high animal traffic areas.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a more efficient method of producing rubber flooring than the current process of pouring multiple layers of rubber over a period of time.
It is an object of the present invention of rubber flooring to provide a very cost-effective, yet equally beneficial alternative to present rubber flooring as is used in animal maintenance and care facilities.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safe flooring for animal locomotion whereby there are no edges to trip or loose footing thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for encapsulating rubber mats to produce a better alternative to current rubber flooring, especially in the context of high traffic of heavy animals.
In satisfaction of the above and related objects, the present invention provides an improved rubber flooring and method for producing same which is both cost effective and of superior performance characteristics in the context of animal care and maintenance facilities. The flooring consists of rubber mats which are encapsulated in substantially the same rubber-containing compounds as are now used to produce rubber flooring by conventional methods. However, because much of the volume of a floor produced according to the present method is occupied by the already-formed rubber mat, the time to install the flooring is substantially reduced, and with it the costs of labor, installation materials, and equipment usable.
Once a floor is produced according to the present invention, it provides indistinguishable characteristics and performance from that of existing rubber floor installations. The cost-effective nature of the flooring and method of the present invention is such that uses, previously ruled out because of cost considerations, may now be added. Such would include uses in even inexpensive horse and cattle trailers, just to give one example.
Through use of the presently described product and associated methods, the present inventor has successfully and drastically reduced the square foot cost of current rubber flooring from approximately $30 to $1.15xe2x80x94a more than 96% reduction in rubber flooring expense.
The cost savings alone from use of the method and application of the present invention will easily exceed millions of dollars each year for zoos and other animal care facilities.